When a single-employer defined benefit plan is terminated with insufficient assets to pay its benefit obligations, the plan sponsor and members of the sponsor's controlled group are held jointly and severally liable to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation ("PBGC") for the difference between the fair market value of plan assets and the value of the plan's liabilities on the date of termination.

On August 5, 2015, in a 3-2 vote, the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted a long-awaited and contentious rule that requires most public companies to disclose the ratio of their CEO's annual pay as compared with the median annual pay of its workers.

Currently, individually designed retirement plans are subject to a five-year determination letter cycle, which is generally based on the last digit of the plan sponsor's Employer Identification Number ("EIN").

The IRS has issued Revenue Procedures 2015-27 and 2015-28, which modify the IRS' retirement plan correction programs known as the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System issued in Revenue Procedure 2013-12.

On May 18, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court rendered a unanimous decision that may pave the way for more lawsuits against ERISA plans alleging a breach of fiduciary duty regarding plan fees and choice of investment alternatives.

The IRS recently issued new final and proposed regulations that provide welcome guidance to sponsors of hybrid pension plans. Hybrid pension plans, such as cash balance plans and pension equity plans, are defined benefit plans that have some of the characteristics of defined contribution plans.

On November 14, 2013, the Internal Revenue Service issued final regulations that permit mid-year reductions or suspensions of safe harbor nonelective contributions, and that modify the rules permitting mid-year reductions or suspensions of safe harbor matching contributions, to 401(k) plans (the "Final Regulations").

IRS Notice 2013-71 recently modified the longstanding "use-or-lose" rule for health flexible spending arrangements (FSAs) so that covered individuals may now be permitted to carry over up to $500 in unspent funds in their health FSA accounts into the next year.

On August 29, 2013, the IRS issued Revenue Ruling 2013-17, which provides that same-sex couples who enter into marriages in jurisdictions that recognize such marriages will be treated as married for federal tax purposes, regardless of whether the couple lives in a jurisdiction that recognizes same-sex marriage.

On June 26, 2013, the United States Supreme Court issued a landmark decision regarding same-sex marriage. While welcomed by proponents of marriage equality for same-sex couples, the decision left many unanswered questions regarding when same-sex marriages will be considered valid for purposes of employee benefit plans. Employers must now navigate through a field of potential landmines with little guidance issued to date.

On December 31, 2012, the Internal Revenue Service (the "IRS") released Revenue Procedure 2013-12, which contains long-awaited updates to the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System ("EPCRS"), previously set forth in Revenue Procedure 2008-50.